Midwestern Escapes

In the world of professional football, the city of Green Bay is legendary.  Ok, this year has not been exactly stellar, keeping this past Sunday’s Packer performance and the impending elimination from the postseason in mind.  Yet, even with a subpar year unfolding, the franchise’s many successes have led to an unyielding fan base, both here in Green Bay and around the country.

That being said, if say, you named a restaurant with a title related to the Packers, not too obvious but one the die hard fans would understand, making a piece of conversation on its own, and then situated it with in the cvonfines of the Lambeau Field atrium, your probably going to have a successful business-as long as the food doesn’t suck.

In addition to that, if those that ran the establishment took care to make it trendy and classy, giving an upscale vibe without trendy and classy prices, its going to be very popular.  Ok, disclaimer, some of the dishes are upwards around 35-40 dollars.  However, our experience, with tantalizing flatbread and a delicious pulled pork sandwich along with drinks, finished under forty dollars. We meander the vast area known as the Lambeau field atrium.  Walking into this fan  hub brings the visions of past Packer glory and the present struggles together.  The statement of the hip space speaks of champions and hall of famers, as banners of legendary faces appear along its walls. Along with pictures hanging from the walls come many classic Christmas decorations.  Somehow the banners of  Hall of Fame greats and Christmas trees fit seamlessly well.  We wander for a bit taking in the unique aura.  From a packer pro shop to a hall of fame, the atrium plays host to some very luring attractions.  One, for instance, as I glimpse the restaurant from the Atrium, is the 1919 Kitchen and Tap. If you’re a packer fan, and haven’t been living under a rock, you know that 1919 is the Packer’s first year of football.  That’s right, one hundred years of football in Green Bay, well, at least Green Bay Packer football.  The first football game in Title Town was played years before in 1895.  However, the city’s namesake was conceived in 1919 by Earl ‘Curly’ Lambeau.  Any who, that’s the reason for the name of this trendy, hip and upscale sports bar.

As I walk in and am greeted by three hostesses, I realize that, as it’s Sunday, everywhere you look there are televisions showing the late afternoon games.  That’s not all I notice.  Plush booths, the most comfortable looking chairs with dining tables, and a long immaculate bar also catch my eye.   

The kitchen is visible and, if I  wish, I could sit right next to it, catching a front row glimpse of its stone hearth.  However, we’re seated at a booth and we order the house beer made by Wisconsin brewer Leinenkugel’s, known as Curly’s Special Ale.  It’s worth the trip alone.  As we peruse the menu, skipping over the seasonal menu which is quite pricy, we find some rather reasonably priced entres.  Heidi chooses the flat bread, to which I kid.  “We go upscale and you order a pizza.”  I do no better and order the pulled pork sandwich. It’s not overly busy tonight, but by no means empty either.  We enjoy the ambiance the restaurant offers, as we pass the time commenting on the games on TV.  Our wait isn’t long and our food is served by a friendly waitress.  Heidi gives me a taste of her flatbread.  Seriously, next time I’ll order that.  Not saying the pulled pork was bad, it was great, the flatbread was incredible though.

The waitress is perfect, stopping by once to ask us how our food tasted.  After we’re done, almost after the last bite was swallowed, she asked us for desert and presented the check after we declined, encouraging us to take our time.

We leave the Restaurant behind and survey the atrium one more time.  I will come back here again, however, next time it will be during a special occasion.  It’s a place, like many others connected to the atrium, well worth a visit. Safe Travels!